Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

"Beyond Belief...

"Fact or Fiction," hosted by Jonathan Frakes.

Tonight, your challenge is to separate what

is true from what is false.

Five stories, some real, some fake.

Can you judge which are fact and which are fiction?

To find out, you must enter a world

of both truth and deception, a world that is Beyond Belief.

Is the truth always easy to see?

Take this picture.

Viewed from this angle, it appears

to be a dramatic seascape.

However, take this vase, place it on the picture and observe.

The clear reflection of a man with a beard.

It happens to be the face of legendary science fiction

writer Jules Verne, a man who knew well the blurry

line between fact and fantasy.

Tonight, you will see stories that

may be inspired by actual events,

or they may be clever lies.

But in judging them, be careful of what they may seem to be.

For like this picture, there may be hidden

truths contained within, a fact which should

give you pause for reflection.

They come in strips, sticks, tubes, and kits.

They inform you with dots, streaks, colors, and symbols.

Today's home pregnancy tests are available everywhere

and be purchased right alongside the beer and potato chips.

In fact, these modern versions are said to be over 99%

accurate.

Yet, one percentage point still leaves room for doubt.

Take 18-year-old Marissa Baker.

Her body is starting to feel different, these days.

But whether she's pregnant or not

will soon be put to a terrifying test.

This is our home in Del Mar, California.

Until that terrifying summer, it was quiet and peaceful.

Our daughter Marissa had just graduated from high school

that June.

She was starting college in the fall.

But until then, she was determined to have

the summer of her young life.

My husband Glenn and I were beginning

to suspect that she had gotten herself into a bad situation.

Oh, oh!

Oh, God.

Oh.

Marissa, what's wrong?

[RETCHING

It's her stomach again, isn't it?

This has been going on for three weeks now.

It can't be the flu.

Glenn, we both know what it is.

We just don't want to face it.

Marissa's been spending a lot of time with Jason.

Maybe they messed up.

It could be morning sickness.

We're gonna have to have a talk with her.

I know she doesn't want to talk to us about anything,

but she's gonna have to talk to us about this.

Glenn, let me do it.

You're getting upset.

All right.

You talk to her.

Marissa?

Sweetie?

I'm not pregnant.

Why can't you believe me?

It's just that all the symptoms are there.

Now, your father and I are trying

to figure this whole thing out and it's something to explore.

There's nothing to explore? OK?

It's no big deal.

I got some kind of flu bug or something,

but I'm feeling better now.

I'm sure it's going away.

Marissa, we just want you to know that we're here for you.

If there's anything you want to talk about...

There's nothing to talk about, Mom.

I'm not pregnant.

As the days passed, Marissa

began to have strange cravings.

And nothing seemed to satisfy her enormous appetite.

Over the next few weeks, her clothes became

harder and harder to fit into.

Marrissa had always watched her figure.

Now her waist was out of control.

What is happening to me?

There is no other explanation, Marissa.

You must be pregnant.

So let's move out of denial and into reality.

You and Jason made a mistake.

I know what it must look like, but it's impossible.

I never had sex with Jason, or anyone, I swear.

We want to believe you Marissa, but...

Oh, you could get me a home pregnancy test.

That'll prove I'm telling the truth.

Well, according to this, you're not pregnant.

She's not?

Oh!

What's wrong?

Something moved.

Well, there's definitely something there.

What do you think it is Dr. Sapperstein?

I don't want to alarm you, but it looks like a large cyst.

It's just such an odd shape.

I never seen anything like it before.

Cyst?

What about the movement I was feeling?

Oh that was probably a muscle spasm, or some gas.

It wasn't a muscle spasm, or gas.

Marissa, the test came back negative.

You're not pregnant.

What about this tumor or cyst or whatever it is?

What do we do about it?

Well, I recommend that we go in and remove

it as quickly as possible.

Mom.

Is she going to be all right?

Marissa's a strong young woman.

Whatever it is, recovery will be quick.

Are we good to go?

Yes, Doctor.

OK, scalpel.

Sponge it, please.

All right, follow me.

Need suction.

Thank you.

Doing great.

Let me get the retractors in here.

We're in.

All right, let's get the clamps in there.

Here we go.

Doing great.

Let's see, down the...

Let's find this.

All right, give me some room.

All right, and there it is.

Scalpel.

Whoa, that's strange.

It feels like it's moving.

Oh my god!

Doctor, what is it?

Oh my God.

It's a baby octopus.

The doctors came up with the only explanation

that made sense.

Marissa had been spending a lot of time swimming in the ocean

that summer.

She must've swallowed a fertilized octopus egg,

and her body provided the incubator for its development.

Our daughter is fully recovered now,

but we'll never get the nightmare out of our minds.

The story you've just seen was suppressed for years,

and is still denied by the medical community.

But let's be clear about one thing.

No one is claiming that Marissa gave birth to an octopus,

only that one was surgically removed from inside her body.

Despite the contradictions and cover-ups by those involved,

can this really be possible?

Can a fertilized octopus egg ingested into the human system

actually grow inside the body?

Certainly other organisms can.

Parasites such as tapeworms have grown to enormous size

inside their human hosts.

Do you accept this tale of an octopus who lived

inside a human being as true?

Or is there something fishy going on here?

NARRATOR We'll find out if this story is true or false

at the end of our show.

Next, a real estate agent sells a house with a curse on Beyond.

Belief Fact or Fiction.

Have you noticed what big stars

real estate agents have become?

Have you seen their names and faces

on billboards, on benches, and in every Sunday newspaper?

Is it any wonder with star treatment

like this that many real estate agents begin

to act like stars themselves?

Bev Conklin is a true star of the real estate world.

See her fast-talking, charming spiel

is like witnessing a high-wire act.

But in this case, Bev isn't working without a net.

She's working without a conscience.

I'd never met a woman like Bev Conklin before.

I wish I never had.

Bev was the number one real estate agent on the East Coast.

She could sell anything, except Hampton Manor.

I didn't know it at the time, but the manor was cursed.

All five previous owners had met with horrible misfortune.

By the time I started house hunting,

Hampton Manor is up for sale again.

My wife and I were fresh from the city.

To Bev, we must've looked like hors d'oeuvres on a tray,

ready to be devoured.

As we closed the deal on Hampton Manor,

Bev never mentioned any curse.

Martha and I have been wanting to move out

of Manhattan for years, but we just

couldn't find the right house.